The Changeable Table: Day twelve (of sixteen days of GREEN)

I love divinity with toasted pecans, so it only made sense to try pistachios. I changed the flavorings from just vanilla, to a combination of almond flavoring with vanilla. After adding a tiny bit of green paste food coloring, these were a good fit for St. Patrick’s Day. Pistachios - with their natural green color, are perfect for this Irish candy. I just had to get silly with a new name - after all, St. Patrick’s Day could use a new generation of candy.

Whenever I visit a vintage candy store (where they let you stand at the counter and choose a sample) I bypass the fudge and covet the divinity. I guess I prefer divinity because I know (by experience) that it is a miracle every time a batch turns out perfectly.

I’ve given up on divinity for 15-20 years now. My first few attempts were while standing at the kitchen counter with two or three toddlers wrapped around my legs asking when I would be finished. Those days are gone, so I was ready to give it another try.

If you can get two things right, you WILL have perfect divinity. Those two things are:

Correct Temperature: use a properly calibrated thermometer (digital is so much simpler nowdays) - and adjust it for your altitude. I do that by measuring what temperature water boils at my altitude, and then adjust up or down (DOWN for my 4,300 foot altitude).

Weather: This is one way to say it... “The weather determines whether you’ll like it!” Because of the high amount of sugar, divinity will act like a sponge to the air around it. If the day is humid (over 50%), then it will not dry properly and will usually end up a gooey mess. Final word - DRY days only.

This recipe is the standard you will find in any cookbook and website out there. I’ve only changed the flavoring ratio, and the type of nuts - as well as adding green paste food coloring. The almond flavor really went well with the pistachios - fun for a change!